The White Box Listening Project

If you are an artist of color, we would like to hear from you during our White Box Listening Project. During the month of September, Waterloo Arts is inviting artists of color to the gallery for conversations about their work and experience practicing their craft in Cleveland. These one-on-one and small group discussions will be recorded on video and the result of the project will be a short documentary, tentatively to be completed by November 2017. We welcome any self-identified artist in the visual or performing arts, during any point in their career – student, emerging, established, retired, self-taught, mainstream, fringe – to be a voice in the project. We hope by casting the net wide, we will capture the conversation from many perspectives.

If you are interested in participating in this project or know other artists who would be interested, please contact Jasmine Golphin at thewhitebox@waterlooarts.org.

Tell us about:

You as an artist.How did you come to be an artist?Do you consider yourself formally trained or self-taught?Was there anyone in your life that inspired you to become an artist? How do you continue to grow as an artist?

Your artwork.What media do you primarily work in and what do you like about it?Are there questions or themes that your work tends to grapple with?

Thoughts on the POC artist community.Did you have POC artists as examples or mentors? Do you think that is important for aspiring POC artists?Do you feel there is a community of POC artists in Cleveland? Is it important? Why or why not?

Your experience as an artist in Cleveland.What has been your experience with Cleveland’s “established” art scene?What would you like to see change about Cleveland’s art scene?
How do you get your work seen/experienced by the public?What is good about being an artist in Cleveland? What not so good?Are you hopeful about your opportunities as a Cleveland artist?What resources would help you further your art – critiques, classes, studio space, artist community?What resources would help you further your career – business classes, tech/website training, exhibiting opportunities, merchandising classes, artist resource map?

Your thoughts on equity in the arts.
Are you familiar with the recent debate over the individual artist grants funded through Cuyahoga Arts & Culture? If so, what are your thoughts on the proposed changes?
Do you think direct funding for individual artists is important? Do you think one type of funding is sufficient?
Do you have thoughts on what might improve equity in the arts – funding quotas, an improved pipeline to the established art scene, more exposure for POC artists, change in public perception?